HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.—The Chicago Wolves faced off against the Milwaukee Admirals in the second of back-to-back exhibition games Saturday night.
Cavan Fitzgerald had two goals while Hank Crone and Rocco Grimaldi added scores as the Wolves skated to a 4-3 victory at Triphahn Community Center & Ice Arena.
“It feels good,” Fitzgerald said. “We have a lot of new faces this year and pretty much our whole team contributed. It was a good outing.”
Adam Scheel (35 saves) was strong in goal for the Wolves as the team’s split a pair of exhibition contests in preparation for the 2023-24 American Hockey League season.
After Milwaukee seized the lead with a shorthanded goal from Zach L’Heureux, the Wolves stormed back to take a 2-1 lead after one period.
First, Hank Crone found the back of the net after a scramble in front, beating Milwaukee goaltender Dylan Wells.
Later in the opening period, Fitzgerald wired a shot from the point that sailed past Wells to give the Wolves the advantage.
Jack Matier’s score for the Admirals early in the second evened things at 2-2 before Fitzgerald struck again to put the Wolves out in front. The defenseman blasted a shot from the left circle that solved Wells for Fitzgerald’s second of the game.
“On my first goal, (Nathan) Sucese made a great pass, put it right on my stick and I just shot it and it went in,” Fitzgerald said. “On the second one, (Austin) Strand had a shot from the point and the rebound came to me so I put it on net.”
With the Wolves killing a penalty to start the third, Grimaldi made it 4-2 following a nifty pass from with Cole Schneider.
Luke Prokop’s power-play goal pulled the Admirals to within 4-3 but the Wolves held on for the victory.
“We have a week to get ready for the first game on Saturday,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ll be ready.”
Next up: The Wolves open their historic 30th season when they host Milwaukee at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14 at Allstate Arena.
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2023-24 season—everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings—visit chicagowolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
